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Topic: WHY ISLAM ALLOW POLYGAMY : (Read 4975 times)

When we speak of polygamy the first thing that is to beunderstood is the fact that it was never an institution that was introducedby the Qur'an or Islam. It was an institution that generally prevailed inancient cultures. Look at what the Encyclopedia Britannica writes: â€œItmay be seen that in most of the ancient cultures either polygamy orthe tradition of keeping concubines existed. In China, where thereexisted the above practices apart from the lawfully permitted wife, itwas never seen to be against the moral code or decency. The traditionof maintaining concubines existed in Japan up to 1880. Even thoughpolygamy was accepted in ancient Egypt, it was not commonplace.However amongst the royal families it was common.â€ (Vol. xviii, p.188)It may be recalled that except for a particular period, polytheismwas common in all the ancient communities among the Romans. Incertain communities of central Africa and Australia the rich wouldeven compete with one another inthe matter of number of wives, theymade of young girls who could not be married off by their parents.. Itis further given to understand that the young men in such communitiesthus finding it difficult to marry and that many amongst them wouldthen take in marriage the widows of their fathers after their fatherâ€™sdeath.. It is even said that the Monomattawo Kings of Zimbabwe hadas many as three thousand wives. `The Guinnes Book of WorldRecordsâ€™ has recorded the head of the Batuba, Bakethe races of Zaireas possessing the most number of wives. They are said to have hadmany hundreds of wives!Many of the Prophets in the Old Testament of the Bible hadmore than one wife. The Book of Genesis makes it quite clear thatAbraham, who is described as the ideological father of the Jewishcommunity, had two wives in Sarah and Hagar (16:1-3). It can also beseen from the Bible that after the death of Sarah, he married a womannamed Kedura and that besides this, he mad many other wives as well(Genesis 25:1-6)Jacob, who was the father of the tribe of Israel had four wivesnamed Leya (Genesis 29:21), Laban (29:29), Bilha (30:4) and Silha(30:9). As for David who is known as the author of the Psalms, it canbe seen that he had besides the wives Meekal (1 Samuel 18:29) BattSheba (2 Samuel 11:27), Abeenovam (2 Samuel 3:3), Abeegayal, Maky,Hageethi, Abeethal, Eggai (2 Samuel 3:4-5), had many other as well.His son Solomon, who is known as author of the Proverbs had sevenhundred wives and three hundred concubines! (1 King 11:3) Indeed,as a token of the greatness of many individuals, the Old Testamentcites that â€˜they had many wives and sons! (I Chronicles 7:3). Theseinstances are reffered only to show that Polytheism was commonplaceduring the times of the Old Testament.There is a little evidence in the earliest sources to show that theChristian religion which came as the successor of the Jewish one, hadheld polygamy as abominable. There is not a single statement whichprohibits polygamy anywhere in the gospels, the book of acts, the bookof revelation, the apostelic writings or even in the letters of Paul. Butthe writings of Paul have discouraged even the very act of marriageitself. The disciples of Paul who were taught that â€˜it is best not tomarryâ€™ (1 Corithians 7:38) were inclined towards ascertism and as forthose who could not manage that came to the stand that one, and onlyone, wife may be taken.However, there have also been moves adopted against this standwithin the Christian community itself. The Mormons of America werea people who advocated the cause of polygamy. They claimed thatJesus Christ had married and that he had many wives as well. Theycontended that since Christ had appeared to Mary Magdalene, Solomiand other women after his resurrection he was more intimately closerto these women than to his apostles and that this, therefore, showedthat it was probable that they were, indeed, his wives. The Christianview thus remains that polygamy was permitted in the earliest periods.This has been mentioned in the Encyclopedia Britannica. â€œPolytheismwas recognised by Christian Church during the middle ages. It existedin its own right. Indeed, as it was permitted both by the Church andNation it existed legally in many places right up to the middle of thesixteenth century.â€ (Vol XIV, p.950)As for India, it may be seen that there existed the tradition oftaking more than one women as wives right from the time of the RigVeda. It is further given to understand that Indra, the most importantgod in the Rig Veda, himself had more than one wife. There is a verse(or Sukta) attribute to Indrani, the most important of all in the wivesof Indra (Rig Veda, Mandal 10, Sukta 17). The main focus of thisverse is on a formula to harass the co-wives. It is a formula by meansof which the attraction of the King towards a co-wife may be eliminatedand his love be made to flow towards herself instead. From this it maybe understood that polygamy prevailed universally during the period ofthe Vedas.polygamy existed even during the classical period. It is wellknown that Dasharat, the father of Shri Ram who is the hero of theRamayan, had the wives Kausalya, Kaikeyi and Sumithra. As for ShriKrishna, the hero of the Mahabharath, the Puranas report that he hadas many as sixteen thousand and eight wives. These wives of ShriKrishna included eight in Rukmini, Jambavathi, Sathyabama, Kalindi,Mithravandha, Saraswathy Kaikeyi and Laxmana along with the tenthousand daughters of Narakasura.By the time age of the Smrithi had commenced, the tradition ofpolygamy also became based on the caste system. The law of theYajnavalkya Smrithi decreed that the Brahiman was to have threewives the Kshatriya two and the vaishya and the Shudra were to haveone each.Thissovarname poorvyana two thathika yathakramamBrahman Kshathriya visham barya swa shudrajanmana(Yajnavalkyasmrithi 1:57)â€œIn accordance with the caste order the Brahman may threewives, the Kshatriya two and the vaishya one. The shudra can marryonly from his own casteâ€.Even in modern societies in which fidelity to one wife is claimedit is a fact the practice of having sexual relations with more than onewoman is quite common. The only difference being that it has beenreferred to by different pet names. While the rich man fulfills his sexualdesire in the call girl engaged in â€˜Publicâ€™ relations, the ordinary manseeks gratification at the brothels. Studies have shown that those whohave not approached the prostitute, called by different names, evenonce are very few indeed. Modern society can hardly seen it as acrime. In addition to this, statistics reveal that sexual perversions a likewife swapping and group sex are on the increase among the elite insociety. In reality, many of those who strongly speak out againstpolygamy are themselves slave to such sexual misconducts..It is an incorrect approach to consider as mere coincidence thesexual relationship which Marx maintained with his concubine Helenabesides his relation with his wife concubine Helena besides his relationwith his wife Jenny. It is pointless to turn oneâ€™s face away from thelesson provided by bare facts like the atheist ideologue, Bertrand Russell,having four wives and of his having, in addition, relationship with thewife of his own son as well as with many other women. We must beable to deal constructively and impartially with the reality which theyprove.It will then be understood that monogamy is a tradition that cannot,at least for some individuals, satisfy the very natural longings that rundeep within them. It is futile, therefore, to engage in a critical discussionof polytheism while closing our eyes to this reality.The Qur'an does permit polygamy. The verse which providesthis permission is as follows: â€œIf ye fear that ye shall not be able todeal justly with the orphans, marry women of your choice, two, orthree, or four; but if ye fear that ye shall not be able to deal justly (withthem), then only one, or that which your right hands possess. That willbe more suitable, to prevent you from doing injustice.â€ (H.Q. 4:3)As in the case with all other communities in the world, polygamydid exist in Arabia sometimes to a degree that far outstripped all othersocieties. In this matter, unrestricted freedom prevailed in Arabia.The Qur'an brought about a regulation in these practice and restrictedthe number of wives to four. That many prophets themselves possessednumerous wives before their attaining prophethood makes it clearthat in Arabia there existed no restriction, whatsoever, in the numberof wives. Ameerathul Asad had eight wives while Noufal binMuawiyya Daylami had five. At the time of their embracing Islam,the Prophet had asked them to maintain four wives of their own choosingand to divorce the rest. In short, therefore, it was in a society wherethere was unrestricted freedom to take any number of wives that thelaw was enforced that four wives may be taken if it is possible toshow justice to each and if this is not possible, then to have just one.The Qur'an does provide the permission to marry four wives, ifit is deemed necessary, subject to the condition that all be treatedimpartially.Moder age has established the practice of marrying not morethan one wife. However, while it restricts legal marriage to just onewife, it does not see anything abhorrent in entertaining relationshipswith call- girls and others of their like.Which, then, is the more conducive code for woman ?Islam does not recognize any extra-marital affairs no matterwhat the name with which it is called. It is on the basis of this fact ofIslam being averse to all such relationships that this problem has to beanalyzed. In a country that is ruled by Islamic rule - adulterers, if theirguilt is proven, by the testimony of four eyewitnesses - will be subjectto a hundred lashes if they be unmarried and to death by stoning ifthey are married. Indeed, the degree of abhorrence shown by Islamiclaw towards these crimes is made manifest in these punishments. Fromthe view point of Islam, adultery becomes the very cause of the breakupof the family, the which is the fundamental unit of the society, andthrough this of the basis of all norms of morality as well. For thisreason, therefore, it is essential for an ideology which seeks to createa society enshrined in righteousness to formulate laws and regulationsthat serve to eliminate it completely. Along with this, however, theremust also be provisions that provide for the gratification of desires in amanner compatible to human nature. Indeed, it is here that the wisdomof Islam in permitting polygamy may be truly appreciated.There are situations wherein polygamy becomes inevitable atthe personal as well as the social level within a society entrenched inrighteousness. Personal circumstances may be summarized as follows:One: Manâ€™s sexual urge. It is an uncontested fact that at leastin the case of some men, there are instances where sexual gratificationis hardly achieved through one woman alone. After all, sexualrelations are not possible with women during their periods ofmenstruations, pregnancy and the like. During all such periods, theremay be men who cannot control their sexual urge. Before these menthere are but two options: Polygamy or adultery.Two: Sexual impotence of the wife. Sometimes impotence inwomen cannot be rectified through treatment. It is but natural that theman will, however, need to have the means of fulfilling his desiresduring such periods of inability of his wife. There can only be theoption of either Polygamy or adultery or else it must be divorce. Theseare the only three ways out for the man. Adultery is, doubtless, immoral.As for divorce, though permitted it must be avoidedas much aspossible. In such a context, polygamy becomes the best alternative.Three: Barrenness of the wife. If the wife is barren, there arethree options before the man: (1) To live a life without having any offspring. (2) To divorce the barren woman and to marry another. (3) Tomarry another woman while maintaining the first wife.The first option will be an act of cruelty to oneâ€™s self. The secondwill be cruelty to the wife. After all, it was not her fault that sheended up being barren. It is the third option which is humane. Throughit, the barren wife may find joy in looking after, and bringing up, thechildren of her husband as her own. She is also thus enabled in fulfillingher yearning for motherhood.Four: Permanent illness of the wife. There are ailments thatprevent sexual relations as well as pregnancy. What are the husbandsof women with such disorders to do? There may also be those whostruggle to even perform the household chores due to such unendinghealth disorders. In all these cases the remedy often resorted to iseither adultery, divorce or polygamy. In divorcing a woman afflictedwith a permanent disorder, she is actually being forced into the street.Here, too, the only humane solution to the problem is polygamy.Certain religious texts prescribe divorce in all the aforementionedcircumstances. Look at the commandment of the Manusmrithi:Vandhyashda methi VedyabdeDeshamethu mruthaprajaEkadashi Sthree jananiSathyasthapriya vadinee (Manu Smrithi 9:81)â€œA baran life may be superseded in the eighth year; one whosechildren have died, in the tenth; one who bears (only) daughters, in theeleventh; but one who says unpleasant things (may be superseded)immediatelyâ€The remedy prescribed by Atheists for such problems is alsodivorce. Look at the solution prescribed by Bertrand Russell, the greatestproponent of Atheism:â€œWhere a marriage is childless divorce may be often the rightsolution even when both parties are doing their best to behave decentlyâ€(Marriage and Morals, P.96)In such instances, which option would a woman prefer for herhusband: polygamy, divorce or adultery? A woman imbued with righteousnessand love will definitely yearn for polygamy. Indeed, Islamhas permitted polygamy considering the security of the woman aswell. Here, we realize that the Qurâ€™anic vision is, indeed, a humaneone.There are also instances wherein polygamy becomes a socialnecessity. These can be enumerated as follows:One: The disparity in man-woman population ratio. This cantake place in two ways. As a natural phenomenon and as a result ofwar. An understanding of history brings forth a certain reality beforeus. It is the fact that in all societies - in all ages - the population ofwomen have surpassed that of men. Modern science does offer anexplanation for this state of affairs. Although the genetic code in humansis so constituted that the differences of the sexes is almost inproportionate measure, out of the off - springs born, the female oneswill be more in number than the male ones since the defense mechanismof the female foetus against infections and diseases is muchmore vigorous than in the case of the male. It is seen that this disparityin numbers stand to the tune of one thousand male for every onethousand and ten female children born.The situation that manifests itself after a war is another suchinstance. Naturally, it is overwhelmingly the male population that activelytakes part in war. Thus, there comes about a substantial disparityin the male-female ratio. In the Second World War, fifty lakhs ofGermanyâ€™s male population lost their lives while the male-female ratiobefore the war stood on a proportional basis there, after the war theratio was set off balance by an excess of five hundred thousand woman.Woman in Japan and Germany resorted to staging demonstrations tomeet their demand for husbands. Boards reading â€˜Wanted: an eveningguestâ€™ appeared in front of their homes. This is, however, restricted byno means to the case of Germany alone. This is, indeed, the naturalcourse in any country coming out of the ravages of war.Whenever the female population in a country exceeds the numberof males in it, the society may resort to three options: 1 . E a c hmale is to marry one woman alone. The remaining women are to livesuppressing their sexual longings. 2. Each man is to take one womanin marriage. The remaining women may resort to adultery. 3. Men,with the financial capability as well as the conviction that they will beable to do justice to their wives, may take more than one woman inmarriage.Which of these is the humane option? When the case of womenwho are unable to live without men is considered, the first option is,indeed, a most cruel and unnatural one. As for the second option, itwill, doubtless, serve only to destroy all morality and society itself. It isthe third option, and the third option alone, which those desirous of amorally upright and progressive society will choose to adopt. It was,after all, for this very reason that the World Youth Organization thatgathered in Munich in 1948 recommended polygamy as a viable solutionfor the woes of Germany. Indeed, this has been the solution recommendedby Islam all along. How is it then that the same solutionwhen declared by the World Youth Organization is found to be humanebut repulsive when declared by Islam?What is the solution, which can be offered by the Christianchurch, which holds that the Holy Spirit guides unto all truth for thisproblem? What do they say should be the condition of those womenwho come in excess? Does the church per chance think that they canall be made nuns by enticing their minds within the myth that they arethe brides of the lord? Or will it be that the Church will support them intheir bid to trespass the boundaries of morality and engage in adultery?In truth, it is a fact that those who boast that their religion recommendsmonogamy have no idea, whatsoever, of the stance theyare to adopt with regard to the social situation where the number ofwomen are on the rise.For the atheists who consider polygamy an abomination the onlysolution for this social problem is recourse to adultery. Adultery, whichis accompanied by the unrestricted use of all means of abortion:Bertrand Russell writes: â€œIn view of the above circumstances it isevident that so long as many men for ecnomic reasons find early marriageimpossible, while many women cannot marry at all equality asbetween men and women demands a relaxation in the traditional standardsof feminine virtue. If men are allowed prenupital intercourse (asin fact they are) women must be allowed to it also. And in all countrieswhere there is an excess of women it is an obvious injustice that womenwho by arithmetical necessity must remain unmarried should be whollydebarred from sexual experience. Doubtless the pioneers of the womenâ€™smovement had no such consequences in view, but their modernfollowers percieve them clearly and whoever opposes these deductionsmust face the fact that he or she is not in favour of justice to thefemale sexâ€ (Marriage and morals, p.59)It is Russellâ€™s recommendation that in a society where free sexis permitted child rearing must be restricted to married couples andthat all extra marital sexual relations must involve the use of the viablemethods of contraception.Which then is the more humane recommendation: is it theQur'anic one which asks men to take up more than one woman inmarriage and to maintain strict equality between them in social circumstanceswherein there is a disparity in the male-female ratio or isit the atheistic recommendation which suggests that women who comein excess must take to adultery?It is clear that, in reality, the woman is subject to the most crueltreachery in the form of such extra-marital relationships. She can bethrown out at any moment . She has no right, whatsoever, to associatethe child born off such relationships with its father for no method ofcontraception is one hundred percent fool-proof. Furthermore, fromthe time that her flesh begins to sag and the wrinkles to appear therewill be none to even consider her predicament. Which, indeed, is themore honourable position: is it the status of a legally married wife whohas her own rights or is it the label of a prostitute? From the viewpointof Islam, any woman is entitled to her status as legally married wifeand to her own sovereign rights no matter whether she be the first orthe fourth wife. Which then is the more suitable option for the women:to live as co-wife and to claim for herself and her children all the rightsthat are due unto them and to become entitled to shares in the wealthof the husband after his death or to live as a [harlot], as one without anyprivileges, whatsoever, and to die miserably as a burden to societyitself?Two: Protection of the widows and the orphans: It is the primaryduty of the society to protect the widows and the orphans. Itmay be seen that Polygamy, at times, becomes expedient in satisfactorilyfulfilling this duty. For, it is the men who die in wars and in mostaccidents in daily life. It is then that the widows and their orphanedchildren increase and their protection becomes a duty of the societyitself.Protection of the widows can hardly be conceived to be completeby merely providing for food and shelter. Indeed, in many instances,it is the young women who are destined to end up as widows.Even if they have two or three children, as human beings endowedwith carnal desires, they will be subject to the desire to have sex.Sexual desires cannot be fulfilled by receiving food, clothing and shelter.To let them off in such fashion will ultimately serve only to forcethem to take up unrighteous, immoral practices. Indeed, such a courseof action can serve only to disrupt all morality in society. They must,therefore, be remarried. That is the right way of protecting the interestsof widows.Who would come forward to marry the widows, especiallywhen they are widows with one or two children. Men could, in general,hesitate to have widows as their first wives. As this hesitation isbut natural it is not fair that they should be criticized for it. It is herethat polygamy comes to the aid of the widows. If she is willing to bethe second or the third wife of a man, she is enabled to satisfy all therights that she is entitled to as a human being.For the orphans, too, their motherâ€™s re-marriage will providethem with relief and security. Whatever the provisions available at anorphanage, it can never have the homely atmosphere of a family. It isin no insignificant way that the trauma of having been torn off fromtheir mother and placed in an orphanage affects the mind of suchchildren. At a time when they should be caressed and brought up intheir motherâ€™s lap they should be there and there alone. They must beprovided the opportunity to live within the atmosphere of a family. There-marriage of the widow sets up the right opportunity for this to takeplace. If the new husband of their mother is a man of righteousnessand religiosity, the orphans receive the same treatment as that from afather along with a most satisfying family atmosphere. In truth, therefore,this is, by far, a more complete life than the one lived out in anorphanage.Many religions actually recommend a life of perpetual sorrowfor the widows. Look at the judgment of the Manu Smrithi:Aa Suthr maranalkshantha niyatha brahmachariniYodharmeka patninam kamkshanthi Thamanuthamam(5:158)â€œShe should be long- suffering until death, self- restrained, andchased, striving (to fulfil) the unsurpassed duty of women who haveone husband.â€It is from such legal prescriptions that, in due course of time,the system of Sati that asks for the wife to die at the pyre of herhusband originated. Islam, on the other hand, understands the problemsof the widows and prescribes the apt solutions as well. It neverasks anybody to assume that there never is a problem while they arein the very midst of such problems â€“ problems which can be very wellbe resolved through the option of polygamy. In such circumstances, itgives the permission to take up more than one wife. Indeed, it is aprovision that provides for the security of the widows and the orphans.It is for the same reason that in many such circumstances wefind polygamy coming to the aid of the woman.It is clear here that the allegation that by allowing polygamyIslam has degraded women is utterly baseless. Indeed, as far as anyoneseeking a recourse to a social system founded in righteousness isconcerned, they can, in no wise, push aside the merits of polygamy.